Top 12 Demolition Tools to Tear Up the House

When we sought him out for some hard-charging advice, Scott Langford of Big Dog Demolition rattled off his favorite job-site hand tools about as quickly as he knocks out a sheet of drywall: "We got hammers, Wonder Bars, pry bars, crowbars." The Georgia-based safety director then delved into some obscure regional taxonomy ("the burp bar, the mutt"), but the basic gist of his deconstruction armada remained clear: These are the tools to pry, pull, pulverize or just plain break stuff up. That destructive mentality guided our selection of these tools--some new, some classic, some crude and others quite complex. Grab one of these the next time you're doing a little demo, and enjoy it while it lasts--the thrill is never quite the same when it comes time to put the place back together. --Harry Sawyers

A sliding hammer action sinks the beakish teeth of Crescent's classic nail puller into the wood around a nail. Using the curved leg as a fulcrum, its jaws clamp shut with enough pressure to grab even a headless nail. For smaller jobs, use a hammer to pivot the newer 8-in. Version (see inset photo, $8). It grabs nails less than 5 3/2-in. in diameter, extracting them with little damage to the surrounding wood. $42 for the Crescent No. 56; $8 for the 8-in.

The FuBar line of crowbar/hammer hybrid demolition tools includes some of the most frightening pieces of metal at the hardware store, but the old models seem like toys compared to Stanley's latest--the firefighter-inspired FuBar Forcible Entry Tool. Even if you never have to put its flame-resistant aluminum handle to the test or use the hydrant wrench for its intended purpose, its crowbar end, hammer-like striking face, nail-pulling slot and lumber-grabbing jaws should handle just about anything you'll run into on your next household demo job.

Tools meant for such abuse really shouldn't be so beautiful. Stiletto's TiBar 16, the first demolition multitool we've seen that would honestly replace a regular hammer, has enough nail-pulling oomph to steal the show from your pry bar and cat's paw as well. One exclusive Stiletto feature is its dimple--a sharp circular lip that you drive over an embedded nailhead, severing the adjacent woodgrain and ensuring a clean extraction. Weighing under 2 pounds, the bar's titanium naturally dissipates shock, whether you're breaking bricks, framing walls, or knocking them out.

The Nail Jack straddles the line between pliers, cat's paw, and end-nipper--but the parts combine to make a tool that's unambiguously antinail. Pound the chisel-tipped front jaws into the wood to bite into embedded nails, or use a second set of jaws near the handles to yank out fasteners in tight spaces. The curved jaws act as a fulcrum, and high handles give you plenty of room to pivot.

With screaming skulls accentuating their death-metal aesthetic, Dead-On makes tools a bit more macabre with products as mischievous as they are morbid. The hammer is called the Death Stick, the nail puller the Exhumer, but we think the most apt name belongs to the Annihilator demolition tool seen here. Its multiple nail pullers, concave axe blade, and stakelike chisel spike could go a long way toward total destruction--at least, of your bathroom wall.

You won't get very far digging under shingles or siding if you demo your hand in the process. The 18-inch Grip Bar's knuckle guard shields your skin as you pry away the loose roof, using the U-shaped channel at the bar's tip to grab nailheads as you go.

From the plumber to the painter, no contractor's tool belt is complete without this Japanese-style pry bar and nail puller. The tool's wafer-thin edge can gently remove a fragile piece of molding, then the cat's paw nail puller can bite through to extract the finish nails buried within.

Not many demo tools let you take something apart and put it back together--but maybe that's what makes the Wonder Bar so wonderful. Hook an end behind drywall and use the tool to pry the panel free, then, when it's time to hang new Sheetrock, put a foot on the L-shaped lever to slowly lift the new sheet into position. The bar got its "super" designation because of the U-shaped midbar curve, added a few years back. This offers a second fulcrum when pulling nails, replacing the previous method--wedging a wood block beneath the tool.

For those of us who see demolition as a kind of architectural assassination, the meticulously arranged components of the Artillery pry bar system offer a seductive, sniper-rifle appeal. The Homeowner's Kit--there are, amazingly, two larger sets available--combines multiple handle lengths and blade widths with an interchangeable fulcrum to produce a demolition toolkit capable of everything from prying tiles to pulling up a floor.

The distributors at Lee Valley call the Box Tool a "tough, ugly tool that is perfect for the person whose usual solution to a problem is to use a larger hammer." We hope said person is usually solving problems related to demolition. While the 13 1/2-in. tool's nearly 2-pound hammer is quite robust, the Box Tool also offers two nail pullers, a pry bar, and a rough-edged axe menacing enough to bring the thrill of the medieval battlefield to your next home demo project. Use it to open crates, break through wood lath, or chase off barbarians.

Whether you're running with the Big Dawg, the Mean Dawg, or the Puppy Dawg, whatever pieces of the house you're planning to rip up don't stand a dawg-gone chance. The size of the crescent-shaped pry bar and the length of the handle change in proportion from breed to breed, but the purpose of the tool remains unchanged. Rock back on the handle to pry up flooring, cabinets and roofing, or swing the hammer end like a sledge to knock down drywall.

When you have to get it hauled out in a hurry, demolition hand tools don't get much more aggressive than the Gutster. A pair of chisels protrude from it like fangs, sliding beneath shingles or flooring to be pried up using the leverage of its long handle. The sharp edges also puncture cleanly through drywall, allowing you to locate the studs to begin popping off the panels.

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